title: Snow mountain-like virus identified in young children with winter vomiting disease in South Africa.
abstract: Human caliciviruses have been reported to be associated with both epidemics of acute diarrhoeal illness and with sporadic cases of gastroenteritis in children. In this study, we report the identification of genogroup II small round-structured viruses or human caliciviruses associated with an outbreak of winter vomiting disease in South Africa. The virus was initially identified by electron microscopic examination of the stools and then further characterised by recombinant immunoassay with expressed capsid proteins to human caliciviruses from genogroups I and II. Both antigenically by the EIA and by sequence analysis of a region of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene, the virus was shown to belong to genogroup II of the human Caliciviridae.
authors.affiliation: MRC/MEDUNSA Diarrhoeal Pathogens Research Unit, Department of Virology, Medical University of Southern Africa, South Africa.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Steele
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Smit
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Peenze
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002139:Caliciviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000235:genetics; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D014839:Vomiting
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases